1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a basketball shooting aid, and more specifically, to a basketball shooting aid which trains people on how to properly shoot a basketball.
2. Prior Art
There is a right way and a wrong way to everything including shooting a basketball. When people learn how to shoot a basketball, usually as kids, they develop improper shooting skills in order to throw a basketball toward the basketball rim. They either throw the basketball under hand or over hand like a shot-putter.
A lot of coaches and parents allow kids to shoot a basketball the wrong way because they probably don't know that there is a proper way to shoot a basketball. So millions of kids are spending thousands of hours practicing how to shoot a basketball, which is good, but it is the wrong way, which is bad. This bad form of shooting a basketball then follows the kid into adulthood.
Just because you are looking at the basketball rim doesn't mean that the basketball will automatically go there. You need the help of your arms to help the basketball reach the place you want it to go. However, the problem is when people shoot a basketball their elbow comes away from the side of their body and it causes the forearm to move from a straight up position to a slanted position; it can be compared to a bird wing when it flaps out. When people shoot with their elbow out there is no consistency in their shot because the elbow will move to a different spot every time someone shoots the basketball. In the past, the only way to fix the bad form problem was to hire a professional basketball shooting coach but many people cannot afford this solution.
Previously, inventors have created several types of basketball shooting aids in such a way to help people learn how to shoot a basketball. U.S. Pat. No. 6,645,093 to Sheppard (2003) which discloses an arm bar which holds the shooter's arm in a desired position by means of a back plate; however, this can add unwanted weight to a shooter which could cause them to overshoot the rim when the device is not being worn. U.S. Pat. No. 6,758,768 to Spencer (2004) discloses an apparatus with a bull's eye mounted behind a backboard that gives the shooter something to target while shooting. If the shooter aims the basketball towards the bull's eye they will hit the backboard and make the shot but this device replaces the teaching of using the box that is already placed on all backboards and this device doesn't teach the proper form when shooting. People can bend their bodies any way they have to just to get the basketball up in the air to try and hit the bull's eye but proper form is still lacking. Again, just because you are looking at a basketball rim or at a basketball backboard does not mean that the basketball will automatically go there when you shoot it.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,041,015 to Sowders (2006) teaches an individual proper technique when shooting by the way an individual grips the basketball and with the release of the basketball. An equatorial track shows if the ball was shot properly by the way the track falls. This device would work well if that is the only way you could release a basketball but an individual should be ready to shoot when the ball reaches the hands and they may not have time to line up the equatorial track in a basketball game.
All these devices are either too restricting to the shooting arm or do not focus in on the technique of properly shooting a basketball. Thus, there is a need and there has never been disclosed a basketball shooting aid which will help people learn the proper way to shoot a basketball. The Electronic Basketball Shooting Coach will improve an individual's ability to put the ball in the hoop and will be an exciting and awesome educational device for kids of all ages.